The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for managing the identity of users and of identifying those users to third parties. Identity theft causes tens of billions of dollars in losses every year.
In an effort to combat identity theft, systems and methods for identifying users to third parties have been developed. In a common two factor application, a user presents a bank card or credit card in addition to the personal identification number (“PIN”) corresponding to the card. In other systems, a user provides a password to identify himself/herself and may be given a Short Message Service (SMS) text message with a unique code that the user must recite for access. In still other systems, a user may be given challenge questions to verify his/her identity. Each of these systems, however, is subject to attack and ultimate defeat from a basic security breach.
It would be advantageous to have a more secure system and method for managing the identity of users and of identifying users to third parties.